‘Doctor Who’ Boss Steven Moffat Officially Leaving After Season 10

Time and time again, Doctor Who has been fraught with rumors of one or more upsets, including showrunner Steven Moffat’s inevitable exit. Well, it appears that day will finally come, as Moffat confirms his exit post-Season 10, setting his replacement Doctor Who head writer as well.

Having started way back in 2010 with the fifth season, Moffat officially confirmed his Doctor Who retirement today, subbing in Chris Chibnall in as the new head writer and executive producer, to begin after Season 10. Says Moffat of his exit:

Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him. It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.

Adds Chibnall:

Doctor Who is the ultimate BBC program: bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world. So it’s a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama. I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore. Steven’s achieved the impossible by continually expanding Doctor Who’s creative ambition, while growing its global popularity. He’s been a dazzling and daring showrunner, and hearing his plans and stories for 2017, it’s clear he’ll be going out with a bang. Just to make my life difficult.

The BBC also confirms that Moffat’s final season will air in the spring of 2017, leaving 2016 with only a Christmas special for new episodes, but what should Doctor Who fans make of the storied exit? Could Peter Capaldi be far behind?